Force sensors (e.g., load reading sensors) are known, and have been used to enhance control of functions in a surgical device, such as a surgical stapling instrument. By using a load reading sensor, the clamping, stapling, and cutting forces of the surgical device can be monitored and used to facilitate these various functions. The load reading sensor can be used to detect pre-set loads and cause the surgical device to react to such a response. For example, during clamping of thick tissue, the load will rise to a pre-determined limit where the surgical device can slow clamping to maintain the clamping force as the tissue relaxes. This allows for clamping of thick tissue without damage to such tissue (e.g., serosa tears). One such example is the firing of a circular stapler type surgical device to create an anastomosis for a powered EEA device (e.g., End-to-End Anastomosis device). The intelligence of such a surgical device is at a higher product cost compared to currently available disposable units and thus would benefit if such intelligent devices are reusable.
Reusable surgical devices must be cleaned (e.g., disinfected) using high pH solutions and sterilized prior to subsequent uses. The most common method of sterilization is the use of autoclaving. Autoclaving utilizes high pressure superheated steam (e.g., 37 PSI @ 137° C. for 18 minutes). Such an environment is known to damage various electronic components and thus a need exists for sensors that can withstand high pH cleaning and sterilizations.